Arrangement to align a part of a wind turbine

Abstract

An arrangement and a method to align a part of a wind turbine to a counterpart is provided. The part of the wind turbine and its counterpart are approached in a main direction of approach, to be connected. The arrangement includes a first and a second alignment tool, whereby the alignment tools include a first area to be connected to the part of the wind turbine, and a second area that protrudes over the physical dimensions of the part of the wind turbine mainly in the main direction of approach. The second area is arranged and prepared in a way to abut on the counterpart, in a direction perpendicular to the main direction of approach, as an arrester to stop and/or hinder a movement of the part of the wind turbine in respect to the counterpart during the alignment.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. An arrangement to align a part of a wind turbine to a counterpart, whereby the part of the wind turbine and the counterpart are approached in a main direction of approach, to be connected, the arrangement comprising:
 a first alignment tool and a second alignment tool, each of the first alignment tool and the second alignment tool including a first area to be connected to the part of the wind, and a second area that protrudes over the physical dimensions of the part of the wind turbine mainly in the main direction of approach, wherein the second area is arranged and prepared in a way to abut on the counterpart, in a direction perpendicular to the main direction of approach, as an arrester to stop and/or hinder a movement of the part of the wind turbine with respect to the counterpart during the alignment; 
 wherein the first alignment tool stops and/or hinders a movement in a first direction, so that a position of the part of the wind turbine with respect to the counterpart is fixed in a first direction; 
 wherein the second alignment tool stops and/or hinders a movement in a second direction, so that the position of the part of the wind turbine with respect to the counterpart is fixed in a second direction; 
 wherein the arrangement comprises at least one guide pin unit, that interacts with a hole in the counterpart, to arrest a rotational position of the part of the wind turbine with respect to the counterpart, after the rotational position of the part of the wind turbine was aligned to the counterpart; 
 wherein the first alignment tool and the second alignment tool each are connected to the part of the wind turbine by a pin that is introduced in a hole of the part of the wind turbine. 
 
     
     
       2. The arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the second area of the first alignment tool and the second alignment tool comprises an elastic part to avoid a damage of the counterpart when the second area abuts on the counterpart. 
     
     
       3. The arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the first alignment tool and second alignment tool each comprises a base and an arm, and that the base comprises the first area and the arm comprises the second area. 
     
     
       4. The arrangement according to  claim 3 , wherein the arm is connected to the base by a connection that withstands forces that act on the arm up to a certain predetermined value, and allows the arm to yield, when the predetermined force is exceeded. 
     
     
       5. The arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the second area of the alignment tool comprises a section that is inclined with respect to the main direction of approach to facilitate the alignment of the part of the wind turbine with respect to the counterpart. 
     
     
       6. The arrangement according to  claim 5 , wherein at least one of the first alignment tool and the second alignment tool and/or the at least one guide pin unit is detachably attached to the part of the wind turbine. 
     
     
       7. The arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the first alignment tool projects further over the physical dimensions of the part of the wind turbine than the second alignment tool, so that the first alignment tool abuts on the counterpart before the second alignment tool, when the part of the wind turbine is approached to the counterpart. 
     
     
       8. The arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one guide pin unit comprises a guide pin, and the guide pin comprises a longitudinal axis that is mainly parallel to the main direction of approach, and that the guide pin yields in the direction of the longitudinal axis, and is rigid in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. 
     
     
       9. The arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the first alignment tool and the second alignment tool each are connected to a flange of the part of the wind turbine by the pin that is introduced in the hole of the flange and a clamp acting on the part of the wind turbine. 
     
     
       10. The arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the second area of the first alignment tool and second alignment tool comprises a spherical element that abuts on the counterpart so that the second area of the first alignment tool and second alignment tool rolls along the surface of the counterpart during a movement of the part of the wind turbine with respect to the counterpart to facilitate the movement and avoid a damage at the counterpart. 
     
     
       11. The arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein a sensor unit is arranged at the counterpart to detect a presence of a guide pin of the at least one guide pin unit in a hole of the counterpart. 
     
     
       12. The arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein an optical sensor is arranged at the counterpart to trace the rotational position of the part of the wind turbine with respect to the counterpart. 
     
     
       13. The arrangement according to  claim 12 , wherein the optical sensor comprises an optical transmitter and an optical receiver to send and receive optical information. 
     
     
       14. The arrangement according to  claim 12 , wherein a reflective element is attached to the part of the wind turbine to interact with the optical sensor that is attached to the counterpart, and to facilitate the tracing of the rotational position of the part of the wind turbine. 
     
     
       15. The arrangement according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one guide pin is connected to the part of the wind turbine at a different location along a flange of the part of the wind turbine than the first alignment tool and the second alignment tool. 
     
     
       16. A method to align a part of a wind turbine to a counterpart by using an arrangement, the part of the wind turbine and the counterpart are approached in a main direction of approach, to be connected, the arrangement comprising a first alignment tool and a second alignment tool, the first alignment tool and the second alignment tool each comprise a first area to be connected to the part of the wind turbine, and a second area that protrudes over the physical dimensions of the part of the wind turbine mainly in the main direction of approach, wherein the second area is arranged and prepared in a way to abut on the counterpart, in a direction perpendicular to the main direction of approach, as an arrester to stop and/or hinder a movement of the part of the wind turbine with respect to the counterpart during the alignment, the first alignment tool stops and/or hinders a movement in a first direction so that the position of the part of the wind turbine with respect to the counterpart is fixed in a first direction, and the second alignment tool stops and/or hinders a movement in a second direction so that the position of the part of the wind turbine with respect to the counterpart is fixed in a second direction, further wherein the arrangement comprises at least one guide pin unit that interacts with a hole in the counterpart, to arrest the rotational position of the part of the wind turbine with respect to the counterpart, after the rotational position of the part of the wind turbine was aligned to the counterpart, wherein the first alignment tool and the second alignment tool each are connected to the part of the wind turbine by a pin that is introduced in a hole of the part of the wind turbine, the method comprising:
 abutting the first alignment tool to the counterpart by performing a lateral movement in a first direction; 
 abutting the second alignment tool to the counterpart by performing a lateral movement in a second direction; 
 rotating the part of the wind turbine with respect to the counterpart to reach a predetermined rotational position; and 
 fixing the rotational position by introducing a guide pin in the hole of the counterpart.